University Southern California Trojans
Women's Soccer Earns Bye In NCAA Tournament
November 07, 1999 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 7, 1999
LOS ANGELES - The USC women's soccer team earned a first-round bye in the 1999 NCAA Tournament and will host either SMU or Baylor in the second round next Sunday (Nov. 14), the NCAA selection committee announced tonight.
After SMU and Baylor play their first-round match on Wednesday (Nov. 10) in Dallas, the winner will move on to face the Women of Troy on Sunday in the Coliseum at 1 p.m.
"Anything can happen when the brackets are released, but I think this is a good seed," USC Coach Jim Millinder said. "We'll focus in on Baylor and SMU this week, two good teams that I know a little about. Whoever we play, we need to have a great effort and go back to doing the things that made us successful this year."
The Women of Troy (14-5 overall, 7-2 in the Pacific-10 Conference for second place) received an at-large bid and are making their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. In 1998, USC beat Washington in the first round, but lost to San Diego State in the second round. This is also the second overall selection in the program's seven-year history.
SMU went 15-5-1 in the regular season and won the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. Baylor went 14-6-1 and lost in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. USC has never faced SMU before, but the Women of Troy defeated Baylor in 1998 in their only previous meeting.
In the other portion of USC's bracket, Long Island plays Maryland in the first round, with the winner moving on to face sixth-seeded Penn State.
USC, ranked No. 7 by Soccer America and Soccer Buzz, went 6-5 against NCAA Tournament teams in 1999, earning victories over BYU, California, Duke, Maryland, Montana and UConn. All five of USC's losses (Florida, Fresno State, North Carolina, Stanford and UCLA) were to tournament teams.
